For many years now I've used the 105mm SMC Takumar for macro work with the Helicoid. Have recently started using the 135 Macro Takumar for similar work with the Helicoid. The DOF between the two lenses is similar but the 135 has more stand off distance due to the extra magnification. The similar DOF was not a surprise but the sharpness similarity was. I was expecting the 135 to be much sharper at f/32 than the 105 at f/22. It was not. I used a 4x loupe and could see no difference between the two lenses. Then I moved to an 8x loupe and still could not see any difference between the two. I got the 135 for its f/32 landscape ability and not so much for macro. After seeing the similarity between the two in macro work, I will continue to use my 105 for macro situations. SR

-- Steve Rasmussen (srasmuss@flash.net), April 20, 2001